


Pallas Athena

by felinedetached



Series: theioan stories (stories of the gods) [4]
Category: Greek and Roman Mythology
Genre: F/F, god athenas gay i love her
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-21 05:55:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13734561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/felinedetached/pseuds/felinedetached
Summary: Before Pallas Athena was Pallas Athena, she was just Athena - the bright-eyed goddess of wisdom and crafts, who had sprung fully-formed from her father’s head.





	Pallas Athena

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SorrowsStars](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SorrowsStars/gifts).



Before Pallas Athena was Pallas Athena, she was just Athena - the bright-eyed goddess of wisdom and crafts, who had sprung fully-formed from her father’s head. She emerged knowing many things, like how many stars there were in the galaxy, why she had sprung from her father’s head instead of from her mother’s womb (she had, really, sprung from her mother’s womb - the only difference was that her mother’s womb was inside her father and as a goddess of wisdom where better else to spring from than his head?) and who each of the gods that surrounded her were, but she didn’t know one very important thing. **  
**

 

What it meant to love.

 

(They will say, in the future, that the first three years are the formative years of a child’s life. That any being needs to form an emotional bond during that time, or there will be severe psychological aftereffects - usually problems forming emotional bonds. How does that apply, Athena will wonder in due time, to her, who was an adult woman by the time she even left the womb? Who had a fully-formed brain, who had thoughts and opinions that she could voice? Did she still need those formative years, and is that why she struggles with connecting to her father? With connecting to the other gods? But this all is a discussion for another time, for we have a story to focus on.)

 

Athena is a very curious goddess - it is in her nature, as the goddess of knowledge and wisdom and creativity - and so, when she sees a young nymph writing on the riverbank, oh, she has to go and see what is being written. The nymph looks so engrossed in her task - staring carefully down into the dirt as she rubs out a part of her writing and goes over it. Her movements do not look like they are forming greek letters at all, and in fact, when Athena finally moves into a position from which she can see the writing in the dirt, she realises it is not writing at all - it is plans. Battle plans.

 

(Here is where Athena learns the necessary knowledge to later aid Ares, and become the goddess of battle strategy, but that is also another story for another time.)

 

This is where Athena, being a rather new goddess and quite unused to walking on two feet - she did, after all, only recently spring from her father’s head and really had no time to learn to walk - makes a mistake. A mistake that would be fatal, if she was anyone other than who she is, and if the nymph was anyone other than who she is.  She stands on a branch, and the crack rings through the clearing with startling volume. The nymph spins, a spear (one that Athena had not noticed) in her hands. She aimed it at Athena, who moved from her hiding place, hands raised just slightly to indicate her surrender.

 

“I am Athena,” she says, “and I mean you no harm. I was merely curious - about what you were drawing.”

 

“I am Pallas,” the nymph replies, “and I am drawing battle plans.”

 

“I have no knowledge of battle tactics,” Athena admits, “I know of strategies - places to position your troops and so forth, but I do not have the battle knowledge to know when to put such strategies in place.”

 

“I could teach you,” Pallas offers, “for are you not the goddess of wisdom?”

 

“I am.”

 

“Then you should know this,” Pallas decides, “but you should also know that should you use this against me and mine, we will come for you and we will not be kind.”

 

“As expected,” Athena replies, “I would say the same were I in your place.”

 

“Come,” Pallas says, gesturing, and Athena follows her without hesitation; for she is curious and has been promised knowledge. (If it had been a trap, she would have fallen for it without hesitation. As it is, it was not a trap, and Athena emerged fine - if slightly traumatized - when all was said and done.)

 

~~º0º~~

 

Pallas shows Athena a community of nymphs - her home. There, they train, study, spar. Athena becomes fond of Pallas - they sleep together, Pallas wrapped around Athena for warmth, and in return, a different kind of warmth blooms deep in Athena’s chest. She’s not sure what it is, because she’s never had time to learn, but it’s nice. It glows when Pallas is near, and Athena thinks that maybe she should stay here - away from Olympus, and the other gods, and with Pallas nearby. She doesn’t have anyone praying to her, after all, so she has no godly duties.

 

And so Athena, in the first few months of her life, makes her first connection.

 

~~º0º~~

 

They are sparring when it happens - spear against spear, and it is quick and vicious. It makes Athena’s chest light up in flames, makes her smile wicked and savage (a smile that Pallas much returns) and then Pallas’s hair flicks, exposing her neck and shoulder where Athena had left her marks the night before (although they are faded now) and she hesitates, distracted. Pallas laughs with delight, sweeps Athena’s feet out from under her with the spear - grazing her ankles with its sharp point, but injuries happen during spars, this was to be expected - and placing it against her throat.

 

“I yield,” Athena says, knowing she cannot escape this, when something very unexpected (and traumatic - here is her trauma) occurs. Pallas opens her mouth, ready to say something as she lifts her spear, when suddenly she has no midsection. Athena can hear screaming - distantly, she realises it is coming from her - as Pallas falls, and she rolls over, kneels by Pallas’s fallen body. Smoke rises from the flesh at the edges of the hole - it is cauterised, and suddenly, oh, suddenly she realises what caused this.

 

“Athena,” Pallas chokes out, somehow, somehow still breathing - but she won’t be for long, no, neither Apollo nor Hermes could help her now.

 

“Pallas, no,” she pleads, scooping Pallas’s body up and holding it to her chest, “don’t leave me!”

 

Pallas just smiles, her eyes falling shut, and Athena’s eyes turn from molten mercury to flint. She rises, Pallas in her arms, and walks back towards the family she will now have to leave - the family she will have to tell of their daughter(mother-sister-aunt)’s death. When she lays Pallas’s body at their feet, they stare, and stare, and stare, until she leaves them to their burial rights.

 

It is then that Athena turns her fury to Olympus. She rises, quick and violent, until she is standing in front of her father’s throne, her eyes a cold grey as they will soon become known for.

 

“You killed her,” she says, and her voice is ice.

 

“She almost killed you,” Zeus replies, and his voice is calm - almost as if he doesn’t care. Athena laughs, high and emotionless, but Zeus is unmoved.

 

“We were sparring, father,” she says, “I am almost ashamed to call you father if this is the extent of your stupidity.”

 

“Watch your tone,” Zeus snaps, and he no longer sits on his throne - he now stands, stance aggressive, as he faces his daughter. Aphrodite stands, then, slipping over to Athena; making sure that she stands between the flint-eyed goddess of wisdom and her father.

 

“Athena,” she says, “don’t do this.”

 

To Zeus, she turns, and says, “She does not mean it. Forgive your daughter, my King.”

 

Zeus acquiesces, but does not move from his place - standing in front of his throne, glaring down at his daughter, the impudent goddess of wisdom, and her protector, the goddess of love. Aphrodite leads Athena from the room, and only when they are seated together in the gardens does Athena let herself break down.

 

“I loved her,” she admits, leaning against Aphrodite.

 

“I know you did, Pallas Athena,” Aphrodite says, and Athena looks up in shock, “and so you will take her name, to honour her and all she taught you.”

 

“Thank you,” Pallas Athena says, and her voice catches. This is the first time she has felt emotion like this, too - gratefulness.

 

“Don’t thank me,” Aphrodite replies, “your romance was a thing of beauty. I only do not wish to see it tainted by this anger.” Athena laughs, seeing straight through the deflection.

 

“I am in your debt, Aphrodite,” she says, “for you have taught me some about emotion.”

 

“Pallas taught you the most, I believe,” Aphrodite says, “honour her teachings.”

 

“I will,” Athena promises, and Aphrodite gives her one final look before leaving the gardens.

 

~~º0º~~

 

It is two months later, that Athena, having talked to Artemis, vows to become a virgin goddess. She had only one love, and that love was taken from her. She does not wish that to happen again.

 

(“You can still date women, you know,” Artemis had said, “Virginity is a man’s issue. Between two women it is useless.”)

 

Pallas Athena is the virgin goddess of wisdom, born from her father’s head, with no love or lust in her conception.

 

Perhaps, many think, she is incapable of it.

 

She was capable, of course, at some point. But now… who knows? That is a story for another time.

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on tumblr [@faeflowerfeline](https://felinedetached.tumblr.com/)


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